Strong, lightweight article, containing a fine-grained metallic layer

Abstract

Articles for automotive, manufacturing and industrial applications including shafts or tubes used, for example, as golf club shafts, ski and hiking poles, fishing rods or bicycle frames, skate blades and snowboards are at least partially electroplated with fine-grained layers of selected metallic materials. Parts with complex geometry can be coated as well. Alternatively, articles such as conical or cylindrical golf club shafts, hiking pole shafts or fishing pole sections, plates or foils and the like can also be electroformed of fine-grained metallic materials on a suitable mandrel or temporary substrate to produce strong, ductile, lightweight components exhibiting a high coefficient of restitution and a high stiffness for use in numerous applications including sporting goods.

1. A baseball bat having at least one metal, metal alloy or metal matrix composite layer on a metallic or non-metallic substrate, said layer having a thickness between 30 μm and 5 cm, said layer having a microstructure with an average grain size between 0.004 μm and 10 μm and said layer exhibiting a modulus of resilience in the range of 0.25 MPa and 25 MPa and an elastic limit ranging from 0.75% to 2.0% 
     
     
       2. The baseball bat  claim 1  where the substrate is a polymer substrate and said layer has a weight amounting to 5% to 95% of the weight of the baseball bat. 
     
     
       3. The baseball bat of  claim 1  where said layer has a yield strength between 200 MPa and 2750 MPa. 
     
     
       4. The baseball bat of  claim 1  where said layer extends over at least part of the inner surface of said substrate. 
     
     
       5. The baseball bat of  claim 1  where said layer extends over at least part of the outer surface of said substrate. 
     
     
       6. The baseball bat of  claim 1  containing a layer of conductive material between the substrate and the coating. 
     
     
       7. The baseball bat of  claim 1  where the torsional stiffness pursuant weight of the baseball bat is improved at least 5% compared to the torsional stiffness of a baseball bat the same but not containing said at least one metal, metal alloy or matrix composite layer. 
     
     
       8. The baseball bat of  claim 1  wherein said layer contains from 2.5 to 75% by volume of particulate material. 
     
     
       9. The baseball bat of  claim 8  wherein said particulate material is selected from the group consisting of metal powders, metal alloy powders, metal oxide powders, nitride powders, carbide powders, graphite, diamond, nanotubes and polymeric materials. 
     
     
       10. The baseball bat of  claim 1  wherein said layer has a thickness ranging from 35 μm and 5 cm.